Caribbean News
JAMAICA: Motorists may soon be required to clear traffic tickets before renewing driver’s licence
#Kingston, October 19, 2018 – Jamaica – Minister of Justice, Hon. Delroy Chuck, has warned that delinquent drivers may soon be required to 
clear outstanding traffic tickets before they are able to renew their driver’s licence.
“The system is not working, and we have to find an alternative way, and we are going to find it, because all those tickets have to be paid. I am proposing… that all of those warrants, all of those unpaid tickets will be put against the driver’s licence of those individuals and be put against the vehicle that was being driven, so when that vehicle comes to be renewed, [it] can’t be renewed until the driver pays the fine,” Minister Chuck said.
“We want to put in place those provisions, so those persons who feel they can collect tickets like confetti, must know that their day of reckoning is at hand,” he added.
Emphasising the problem of unpaid traffic tickets, Minister Chuck noted that at the Kingston Traffic Court alone, 65,000 persons did not pay for the first six months of this year. He argued that with unpaid tickets sent to the courts after 30 days, that amounts to about 10,000 per month.
“That’s about 500 warrants on average being issued every day,” Minister Chuck lamented.
He pledged that “we are going to collect every single one. If you don’t think you breached the law, go fight it in court, but you can’t just ignore the 
law like that”.
Minister Chuck pointed out that there have been three moratoriums to allow for persons with outstanding traffic tickets to pay, and there are no plans to have another. He is encouraging motorists with outstanding tickets to call the traffic headquarters at the Elleston Road Police Station. “They have data of every ticket that has not been paid,” he indicated.
Minister Chuck was speaking at a Justice of the Peace (JP) training session at the Wembley Centre of Excellence in Hayes, Clarendon, on Thursday (October 18). The session was held to hear the concerns of the JP and assist them with providing solutions for issues they face while they serve citizens.
Release: JIS
Contact: Ainsworth Morris
Photo Caption: Minister of Justice, Hon. Delroy Chuck (left), emphasises a point during a Justice of the Peace training session held at the Wembley Centre of Excellence in Hayes, Clarendon, on Thursday (October 18). Seated beside the Minister is Custos Rotulorum for the parish, William Shagoury.
Photo: Dave Reid
KINGSTON, April 29 (JIS):
Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Senator the Hon. Matthew Samuda, says the outcome of discussions arising from the Jamaica National Stakeholder Consultation on Climate Services and the 1st National Climate Forum (NCF-1) will assist in guiding the Government’s planning for climate change.
This, he points out, is important for climate mitigation as well as building Jamaica’s resilience.
“We look forward to the discussions that will, no doubt, take place. We look forward to the basis of planning for the Government to streamline its investments to ensure you have the tools that you need to better advise us, that the WRA (Water Resources Authority) has the tools to digitise its monitoring network, and that all of the agencies that touch our planning mechanisms have the tools. But we need to know what we are facing, and we’re guided by your expertise,” Minister Samuda said.
He was addressing the opening ceremony for the Jamaica National Stakeholder Consultation on Climate Services and the 1st National Climate Forum (NCF-1) at the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel in New Kingston on Monday (April 29).
Senator Samuda said given the fact that the climate has changed and continues to do so, investments in and collaborations on building Jamaica’s predictive and scientific capacity must be prioritised.
“Ultimately, we need to be able to assess our current climatic realities if we are to better plan, if we’re to insist and ensure that our infrastructure meets the needs that we need it to. I’m very happy that this event is happening… because this is a critical issue.
“Jamaica, last year, faced its worst and most severe drought… and this year, we’re already seeing the impacts of not quite as severe a drought but, certainly, a drought with severe impacts, especially in the western part of the country,” he said.
Principal Director, Meteorological Service of Jamaica, Evan Thompson, explained that the forum aims to, among other things, establish a collaboration platform for climate services providers and users to understand risks and opportunities of past, present and future climate developments, as well as improve inter-agency coordination of policies, plans and programmes.
Among the other presenters were Ambassador, European Union to Jamaica, Her Excellency Marianne Van Steen; Chief Scientist/Climatologist, Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology, Adrian Trotman; and Head, Regional Climate Prediction Services, World Meteorological Organization, Wilfran Moufouma-Okia.
The Meteorological Service of Jamaica hosted the Jamaica National Stakeholder Consultation on Climate Services and the 1st National Climate Forum (NCF-1) in partnership with the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology and the World Meteorological Organization.
The National Stakeholder Consultation is a governance mechanism that guides how different sectors or actors work together to create products that contribute to adaptation and resilience-building. It seeks to create a road map for the development and implementation of climate services to inform decision-making.
NCF-1 aims to bridge the gap between climate providers and users. It increases the use of science-based information in decision-making and operations with the aim of generating and delivering co-produced and co-designed products and services.
CONTACT: CHRIS PATTERSON
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